Earth observation and environmental sensing for climate smart sustainable Agro-pastoral ecosystem transformation in East Africa (ESSA)

This project aims to contribute to pastoralist households’ transition towards climate-smart agropastoral systems in sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia and Kenya) by understanding the dynamics of and interlinkages between tropical upland forest cover and semi-arid lowland landscapes and the multifunctionality of agropastoral landscapes through a system-wide view of food and nutrition security, diversified livelihoods, and ecosystem sustainability. The study areas are Munessa and Yebelo in Oromia Region (Ethiopia) and Kajiado, Machakos, Makueni, and Taita Taveta (Kenya). The University of Helsinki is leading project implementation.

The Centre’s role is to provide remote sensing land cover and pastoral area data